Smart Meters

The smart electric meter market has shifted emphasis to projects in Europe and Asia Pacific while the once hot U.S. market has leveled off, as federal funding for projects has been nearly exhausted. However, deployments do continue. Even with the U.S. slowdown, smart meter vendors report business activity is increasing in Western Europe, where utilities in Spain, France, and the United Kingdom have projects underway or about to begin that will account for some 93 million new meters by the end of 2020. Similarly, in Eastern Europe, utilities have stepped up plans for smart meter deployments.

In Asia Pacific, utilities in China continue to install large numbers of smart meters as part of a 5-year nationwide plan to upgrade grid infrastructure. Major deployments are planned in Japan that are expected to eventually account for some 80 million smart meters, with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) taking the lead there. In India, pilot projects are taking place that will set the stage for large smart meter deployments that will start later this decade and are expected to total more than 150 million new devices. According to Navigant Research, global revenue from annual smart meter shipments is expected to grow from $4.4 billion in 2013 to $6.6 billion in 2023.

This Navigant Research report examines the global market opportunity for smart electric meters, with a focus on four neighborhood area network (NAN) communications technologies: radio frequency (RF) mesh, RF point-to-point, RF public, and power line communications (PLC). The study examines the drivers and barriers shaping the market, along with the major technology issues. Global market forecasts for smart electric meter shipments and the associated revenue, broken out by region, meter type, and NAN technology, extend through 2023. The report also provides key vendor profiles and a discussion of broad metering trends and activities worldwide.